Aladdin Desktop Tools is a suite of system utilities intended for use with System 7.x altough it is working fine even up to Mac OS 9.x. The installer places control panels and extensions that start when booting the computer and allows for faster use of those tools.
Aladdin Desktop Tools (ADT) combines updated versions of older Aladdin utilities with modules based on shareware favorite SpeedyFinder?. Although ADT was ostensibly designed to complement rather than compete with e.visting utility packages, there is still substantial overlap. However, ADT offers some unique features in a combination that differs from other packages.
Extensions
Desktop SpeedBoost makes the Finder’s Copy and Trash functions faster and more versatile. It can copy and delete files in the background, queue Copy and Trash operations, and view and delete queued operations. SpeedBoost’s many options range from smart handling of transparently compressed files to a thoughtful ⌘-drag feature to move (not copy) files between volumes.
You can have SpeedBoost’s powerful Replace feature automatically replace only changed files, preserving unchanged and more-recent versions. Or you can choose to be asked if you want to replace files; SpeedBoost lets you decide on a fileby-file basis, offers a “replace by date” option, and can merge folders with the same name rather than replace them.
Trash enhancements include options to empty the Trash at shutdown, delete locked files without asking, keep the Trash empty (by deleting items immediately), and overwrite all trashed files so they cannot be retrieved. (ADT also offers this last option on a per-file basis with Desktop Secure Delete.)
ADT’s obvious competitors are Symantec’s CopyDoubler and MSA’s Copyright Pro, both of which offer a feature that SpeedBoost lacks: scheduled copying. But CopyDoubler’s Fast Replace isn’t as sophisticated as SpeedBoost’s version, and Copyright Pro does a fraction of what ADT can do.
Desktop Makeover is a grab bag of minor goodies. It can aim off the Finder’s window zooming and file-rename delay; it offers color icons for CDs, remote volumes, and different types of floppies; and it removes the balloon-help icon from the menu bar. I was disappointed, however, that I couldn’t reclaim the “free” menu-bar space with my menu clock.
Makeover also features Document Linking, which replaces the “application not found” error message with a dialog box asking you to choose an application. Makeover remembers your choice, linking all documents of that type to the same application. Apple now includes this feature in System 7.5 as Macintosh Easy Open, but I found Makeover easier to use. Finally, Makeover’s Menu Settings feature lets you assign ⌘-key combinations to your Finder menu items. While this is a nice idea, I found it awkward compared with Now Software’s NowMenus (part of Now Utilities), which does this and more with much greater ease.
Desktop Shortcut enhances the Finder’s Open and Save dialog boxes. It can take you .straight to the last file or folder accessed; give you direct access to recently used and user-selected files, folders, and volumes via a pop-up menu; create new folders; and search for files by a variety’ of criteria. In short. Shortcut is on the same turf as Now Super Boomerang. While Shortcut has a few cool things that Super Boomerang lacks, they’re insignificant compared with the latter program’s additional features and greater elegance.
Desktop Magic Tools adds to Aladdin’s Magic Menu extension, which is included in ADT. Magic Tools grants the Finder a few new functions, but not much magic. Get More Info gives you access to a few Finder flags, such as the Bundle bit, and to the Type and Creator codes for files. Yet it omits things that appear in the Finder’s Get Info window, such as Finder Comments and the custom-icon box. Make Alias To lets you save an alias of a selected file with a standard Save dialog but lacks a hierarchical menu of common destinations, which would save steps and time. The Copy/Move function has the same flaw. Lastly, Gather takes a group of selected files and puts them in one folder, but you can gather files from only one volume at a time. Magic Tools can be useful, but it feels like a job half-done.
Applications
ADT’s Desktop Printer puts double-clickable, drag-and-drop printer icons on the desktop, which makes choosing an output device a snap — with one important exception. If you have different types of devices using the LaserWriter 8 driver, Desktop Printer can’t switch PPDs (PostScript Printer Descriptions), so you still need to use the Chooser. Still, this is a simple, elegant utility. Let’s hope Aladdin can deliver a completely LaserWriter 8-friendly version soon.
Desktop Viewer is a drag-and-drop, read-only file viewer that can open virtually anything, though not always in a practical manner. Out of the box, it can view text, sound, PICT, and (with QuickTime) JPEG files. Other file formats can be viewed with XTND translators (not included). With files that lack translators. Viewer defaults to the Programmer’s View, which lets you see both data and resource forks.
Viewer lets you copy selections from within any file and save a complete copy of any file, but it doesn’t allow you to save selections. This is restrictive. With more-extensive save options, Viewer could be as handy as Abbott Systems’ CanOpener.
Oddly, Viewer menus appear in the document window, rather than in the menu bar. This is awkward and disturbingly Window’s-like. On the plus side, Viewer functions are accessible directly from Magic Menu and Shortcut. Despite its quirks. Viewer is versatile and useful.
The Last Word
Aladdin Desktop Tools has an impressive array of features. They’re not all perfectly implemented, but Desktop SpeedBoost and Desktop Printer make the package worth its $50 street price; and the rest could be considered a bonus.
Stoller, Peter M. (August 1995). Aladdin Desktop Tools 1.0. Macworld. (pg. 69).
Aladdin Desktop Tools
Aladdin Systems, Inc.
System
out of 10 (0 vote)
99 / 
2017-05-01 / 
b856ee56f65b54df7600fd19f18aaf88af9306f2 / 
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Aladdin_Desktop_Tools.sit
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
Basilisk II
